Case Study: Bridging Markets through Engineering Talent Strategy
- Insights
- May 3, 2023
- 5 min read
A Cross-Border Workforce Strategy Supporting Technical Excellence and Operational Performance Across Germany and Denmark
Operating across Germany and Denmark required specialised professionals capable of supporting both Sales growth, Engineering and operational excellence. A coordinated cross-border talent strategy enabled Otis to strengthen critical business functions through targeted executive search and structured advisory.
Through a structured advisory approach, Friis+Børgesen combined Engineering Talent Strategy, Talent Intelligence, and cross-border Executive Search to redefine critical technical roles, establish sustainable engineering talent pipelines, and successfully strengthen key business functions across two strategically important markets.
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Key Leadership Insights
Critical engineering recruitment requires a deep understanding of both commercial and operational business priorities.
Cross-border organisations benefit from consistent assessment methodologies while adapting to local labour market dynamics.
Technical expertise alone is insufficient; long-term organisational fit determines sustainable performance.
Talent Intelligence creates greater strategic value by enabling organisations to build sustainable engineering talent pipelines rather than reacting to individual vacancies.
Engineering workforce strategy becomes a competitive advantage when Executive Search is integrated with long-term workforce planning and organisational capability building.
At a glance:
2 Markets | 4 Critical Appointments | Engineering Talent Strategy |
Germany & Denmark | Technical Sales, Procurement & Client Facility Management | Sustainable workforce capabilities strengthened through Talent Intelligence and cross-border advisory |
Client Introduction
OTIS is one of the world's largest manufacturers and service providers of elevators, escalators, and vertical transportation solutions. Operating across more than 200 countries and territories, the company supports commercial real estate, residential developments, healthcare facilities, public infrastructure, airports, and industrial environments. Maintaining highly specialised engineering expertise across multiple markets is fundamental to delivering safe, reliable, and customer-focused mobility solutions while supporting long-term business growth.
The Challenge
Engineering organisations across Europe continue to face growing pressure in attracting and retaining highly specialised professionals. Increasing demand for technical expertise, demographic change, and intensifying competition for experienced talent have significantly reduced the availability of qualified engineering professionals across both commercial and operational disciplines.
Against this backdrop, Otis required support across two strategically important markets with distinctly different business priorities.
In Germany, the organisation sought to strengthen its commercial organisation through the appointment of Technical Sales professionals capable of combining consultative sales expertise with an in-depth understanding of technically complex elevator and mobility solutions. Success depended on identifying professionals able to translate engineering knowledge into customer value while supporting long-term commercial growth.
Simultaneously, Otis Denmark required experienced professionals within Procurement and Client Facility Management—functions essential to maintaining operational continuity, supplier performance, customer satisfaction, and cross-functional collaboration. These appointments demanded professionals capable of operating within a highly structured international organisation while balancing technical understanding with operational excellence.
Although each assignment addressed a different business function, they shared a common strategic challenge.
Traditional recruitment methods were unlikely to identify candidates with the necessary combination of engineering expertise, commercial understanding, organisational fit, and long-term development potential within increasingly constrained labour markets.
Rather than treating each assignment as an isolated hiring exercise, Otis required a coordinated workforce strategy capable of strengthening organisational capability across multiple functions, countries, and business priorities.
Client Perspective
"The value of the engagement extended well beyond candidate identification. Friis+Børgesen acted as a strategic adviser throughout the process, investing significant time in understanding our organisational structure, governance requirements, operational priorities, and long-term workforce strategy across Germany and Denmark. By challenging role definitions, providing transparent market intelligence, and aligning multiple stakeholders around clearly defined hiring criteria, they enabled faster and more confident decision-making. The result was a series of appointments that not only addressed immediate hiring needs but also strengthened our organisational capabilities through individuals who continue to contribute successfully within our business." — Regional Hiring Manager, Otis
The Solution
Friis+Børgesen developed a cross-border Engineering Talent Strategy designed to strengthen Otis' commercial and operational capabilities across Germany and Denmark throughout a six-month engagement.
Rather than approaching each assignment independently, the advisory process established a consistent methodology while adapting every search strategy to the realities of each local labour market and engineering discipline.
Each engagement began with structured stakeholder workshops designed to understand considerably more than the job description. Discussions focused on organisational priorities, reporting structures, governance requirements, operational challenges, leadership expectations, engineering capabilities, cultural fit, and the long-term competencies required to support future business objectives.
These collaborative sessions frequently resulted in refinements to role profiles, ensuring recruitment decisions reflected future organisational needs rather than historical position descriptions.
Following the briefing phase, dedicated market mapping identified highly specialised engineering talent across Germany and Denmark. Existing executive networks were complemented by discreet direct search, enabling access to experienced professionals who were typically not active within the recruitment market.
Candidate assessment extended well beyond technical qualifications.
For Technical Sales appointments in Germany, particular emphasis was placed on candidates' ability to communicate complex engineering solutions, build trusted customer relationships, and navigate consultative sales environments requiring both commercial credibility and deep technical expertise.
For Procurement and Client Facility Management appointments in Denmark, assessments focused on supplier collaboration, operational coordination, stakeholder management, engineering-related processes, organisational adaptability, and service excellence within an international corporate environment.
Across every assignment, candidates were evaluated against four consistent dimensions:
Functional expertise
Commercial and operational judgement
Organisational and cultural alignment
Long-term leadership and development potential
Beyond the immediate hiring objectives, Friis+Børgesen expanded the engagement through a Talent Intelligence approach designed to strengthen Otis' long-term engineering workforce strategy. By combining detailed market mapping, workforce analysis, and candidate landscape assessment across Germany and Denmark, the engagement identified sustainable engineering talent pools, evaluated the effectiveness of different sourcing channels, and created greater transparency around the availability of highly specialised engineering professionals.
Rather than focusing solely on current vacancies, the advisory process established a strategic framework for future engineering recruitment—highlighting where critical capabilities existed, which sourcing strategies delivered the strongest outcomes, and how workforce planning could become significantly more proactive. These insights enabled Otis to reduce future recruitment risk while building a sustainable engineering talent pipeline across multiple business functions and markets.
The Impact
Over the course of approximately six months, Otis successfully strengthened key commercial and operational capabilities across Germany and Denmark through four strategically important appointments.
The coordinated advisory approach created consistency across multiple recruitment projects despite differing functional requirements, engineering disciplines, labour market conditions, and organisational contexts.
In Germany, the appointments of Technical Sales professionals strengthened the organisation's ability to support customers through technically sophisticated sales processes while reinforcing future commercial growth.
In Denmark, the successful recruitment of Procurement and Client Facility Management professionals enhanced operational coordination, supplier collaboration, and customer-focused service delivery across critical engineering functions.
Beyond the successful appointments themselves, one of the engagement's most valuable outcomes was the establishment of a Talent Intelligence framework supporting Otis' future engineering workforce strategy. The engagement provided greater visibility into engineering labour market dynamics, sustainable talent pipelines, and the sourcing strategies most likely to secure highly specialised professionals across Germany and Denmark.
Rather than representing a standalone recruitment project, the engagement created a foundation for more informed workforce planning and future engineering hiring decisions, enabling Otis to transition from reactive recruitment towards a proactive and sustainable engineering talent acquisition strategy.
The engagement illustrates how Engineering Talent Strategy, Talent Intelligence, and Executive Search can be integrated to strengthen organisational capability while enabling engineering organisations to respond effectively to increasingly competitive labour markets.
Key Metrics
Markets Supported: Germany & Denmark
Engagement Duration: Approximately Six Months
Critical Appointments: > 4
Functions Recruited: Technical Sales, Procurement & Client Facility Management
Search Methodology: Cross-Border Executive Search, Engineering Talent Strategy & Talent Intelligence
Assessment Focus: Engineering Expertise, Commercial Capability, Organisational Fit & Long-Term Potential
Talent Intelligence: Engineering labour market mapping and candidate landscape analysis across Germany and Denmark
Strategic Outcome: Sustainable engineering talent acquisition framework established
Workforce Planning: Long-term sourcing strategy developed for future engineering recruitment
Stakeholder Collaboration: Continuous throughout the engagement
Business Outcome: Strengthened commercial and operational capabilities across two strategically important European markets while establishing a sustainable engineering workforce strategy supporting future growth.
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